


apple smooties

by meowy_times



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Tsukishima Kei is a Good Friend, i dunno, yamaguchi is a lil insecure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25909930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowy_times/pseuds/meowy_times
Summary: In which Yamaguchi thinks he is only average, but Tsukishima thinks he is extraordinary.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 96





	apple smooties

**Author's Note:**

> ok the title is just from what i drank today, not really much else  
> i don’t know what this is i’m running out of ideas i can actually write... i’ve been listening/reading to too many good fics and trying to emulate that with my limited vocabulary is hard

Yamaguchi was pretty average, in his opinion. To be fair, average was subjective, but when he was constantly being compared, he felt average.

For example:

Yamaguchi was obviously smarter than Hinata and Kageyama, but his grades were still average in class. Yes, he got 100s and 90%s; things that Hinata and Kageyama could only dream of. Yamaguchi felt average because Hinata and Kageyama weren’t in his comparisons. Instead, he had Tsukki and Yachi and his classmates, who all seemed infinitely smarter and better than him. He was in a different rank from Hinata and Kageyama, but he felt like he was losing. He was slipping away and had to try so hard to grasp and hold on to his grades and status.

  
  


He told Tsukki this much on the way home from volleyball. Tsukki just scoffed and said, “You’re seriously comparing yourself to those dipshits in our class?” Yamaguchi shrugged. He turned his head to the sky and tried to get the topic off of his low self esteem. 

“Hey Tsukki, look at the stars!” Tsukishima looked up and saw the million stars in the sky. And yet, his favorite stars were still the ones on Yamaguchi’s face. 

“Wanna watch a documentary tonight?” Tsukishima was looking at Yamaguchi's face, but he hadn’t noticed yet. Yamaguchi was so damn perfect. He was a genius, really. Creative and kind and a million things that Tsukishima could never be. How could he ever think he was average?

“Sure…” Yamaguchi sighed, his voice fading. He sounded tired. 

When they got to the Tsukishima residence, Tsukishima’s mother was already asleep. Recently, she’d been sick with a cold. Yamaguchi called a quiet “Sorry for intruding!” and Tsukishima rummaged in the fridge for food. 

“Turn on the light.” Tsukishima walked into the living room. Yamaguchi did as he was told and Tsukishima moved the pillows to the ground. 

“What’re you doing?” 

“Making a pillow fort,” Tsukishima said seriously as he pulled a blanket over the couch. Yamaguchi watched him for a few minutes. “Get the remote.” 

“Oh,” Yamaguchi said, “Sorry Tsukki!” Tsukishima watched in silence as he turned on the TV and flipped through channels. “This one, right?” Yamaguchi stopped on the nature channel, showing a documentary on large cats. 

“Your grades are much better than 90 percent of our class.” Yamaguchi looked surprised at the sudden comment. They were sprawled out on the ground, with a pink blanket over their head. There were three other blankets, but all were being hogged by Yamaguchi. Not that Tsukishima ever minded. 

* * *

Yamaguchi stopped thinking about his grades after that. Or well… it’d be bad to  _ completely  _ forget about them, but he stopped comparing. As a result, he no longer thought he was average in class. But there were things he felt incompetent at.

For example:

In volleyball, Yamaguchi wasn’t  _ bad.  _ He wasn’t a starting member though. Compared to Tsukki and Hinata and Kageyama, he wasn’t special. He didn’t quite have the height that Tsukki had. He wasn’t a prodigy or monstrous speed. He was average, and it wasn’t good enough. Yamaguchi had to work one hundred times harder to get where he was. Again, he was a different rank and desperately trying to climb up a level.

  
  


Yamaguchi asked Tsukki about it this time. He didn’t just say it, because he knew Tsukki wasn’t the most passionate about volleyball. 

“Do you think I’ll become a starter this year?” 

“It doesn’t really matter.” Tsukishima said bluntly. “You’re still a crucial part of the team, even if you don’t go in first.” Tsukishima knew this was true. Yamaguchi was crucial for scoring points in tight spots. When it seemed like Kurasuno was losing, Yamaguchi would be called in and turn the tables. He practiced his jump float serve more than anyone else. Yamaguchi was hard working and amazing and a million things Tsukishima could never be. How could he ever think he was average?

Tsukishima laid back onto the grass. It was a weekend and Daichi insisted on “team bonding”. That meant going to the park and staying as far away from the idiot duo as possible. Yamaguchi was still sitting up, watching the others. Hinata was running from Kageyama and Tanaka was trying to start a water balloon fight. Tsukishima could tell by the way Noya shouted with glee at the chaos. 

Sugawara climbed up to their hill and asked, “Are you going to join the others?” He was looking over both of them, Yamaguchi laid down a few minutes after Tsukishima. 

“Nah,” Tsukishima mumbled, the warm summer air making him sleepy. He watched the clouds pass by and shift into funny shapes. “Look Yamaguchi, that one looks like a lion.” 

They ignored everyone for a while. They were in their own bubble of happiness and contented feelings. Eventually they fell asleep. It was warm and no one could really blame them for it. Tsukishima could, however, blame Nishinoya for his wet shirt. Noya decided it was a good idea to drop a water balloon on his chest. 

Tsukishima almost snapped at Noya for splashing him, but Yamaguchi’s laugh stopped him. Yamaguchi’s laugh was warm, like the day. He grinned at Tsukishima and it was brighter than the sun. Tsukishima completely forgot about his wet shirt. Not that he ever minded.

* * *

Yamaguchi was content with being a pinch server. Since the team didn’t need any more middle blockers, Yamaguchi was fine. He still got play time, and according to Ukai, he became a lot more confident. Or pushy… maybe. It wasn’t a bad thing, Yamaguchi was fine. But he was still average at things he could hardly control.

For example:

In comparison to Tanaka or Noya, Yamaguchi was popular. He’d had a few girls confess to him since the start of high school. As far as he knew, neither Tanaka and Noya had never had a girlfriend and were completely devoted to Kiyoko. But compared to Tsukki or Kageyama, it was nothing. Tsukki had at least one confession a week to deal with and Kageyama was somehow insanely popular. It wasn’t that Yamaguchi wanted a lot of confessions, Tsukki said they were annoying and Yamaguchi believed him. But he was a different rank, and would like at least a few more people to like him. (Was that too much to ask? Probably.)

  
  


Yamaguchi didn’t tell Tsukki this one. He knew how Tsukki would react. He’d “tsk”and complain about how many girls he had to deal with. He’d say they were annoying. Yamaguchi knew exactly how many girls liked Tsukki though, more than Tsukki knew. They all came to him first, asking “Is Tsukishima single?”, “Does Tsukishima have a girlfriend?” Yamaguchi was sick of it, for two reasons. One, because none of the girls cared about him, and two, because well… he liked Tsukki more. So maybe his wish for more girls was to cover his painfully apparent gayness. 

“Did you know that the average age to get your first kiss is fifteen?” Tsukishima eyed Yamaguchi oddly. When did he ever care about these things? 

“No, why?” 

“No reason…” Yamaguchi looked at the menu from the small cafe they liked. He seemed to ignore Tsukishima’s glares and questioning looks. “What do you suggest Tsukki?” 

“What uh-“ “For drinks” “Oh umm, the strawberry smoothie?” Tsukishima didn’t know how seriously Yamaguchi would take his advice as he ordered. 

“So… This time I’m not average!” Yamaguchi said happily. 

“What?” Tsukishima didn’t know what Yamaguchi was talking about. Yamaguchi was never average. He was better than average. He was funny and bright and a million things Tsukishima could never be. 

“I haven’t kissed anyone yet,” Yamaguchi explained, and Tsukishima wondered why Yamaguchi was happy about that. Not that Tsukishima ever kissed anyone either. He got lots of confession letters and meetings behind the gym, but never kissed. 

“Why do you think you’re average?” It slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. Yamaguchi just turned to him and cocked his head to the side. 

“Well this time I’m not.” 

“Do you want to be?” Tsukishima didn't really know what he was saying, what he was implying. But Yamaguchi went pink and it was the prettiest thing Tsukishima had ever seen. Soft rosy cheeks and pink dusting over freckled stars. 

Tsukishima pulled Yamaguchi over, kissing him quickly on the lips. It was the first time he’d ever done it, so it was bad. But not terrible. Yamaguchi was surprised, that was expected. Yamaguchi kissed back, that was not expected. Tsukishima could feel the fireworks go off in his head, screaming “You’re gay!” in big congratulatory letters. 

When they pulled apart, Yamaguchi stared at Tsukishima for too long before laughing. 

“I guess I’m average now!” He grinned breathlessly as the waitress walked over. She set down their drinks, not minding their conversation. 

“What’s that?” Tsukishima ignored the comment and pointed to Yamaguchi’s drink. 

“Oh it’s an apple smoothie. It sounded interesting.” Tsukishima sighed and sipped his own strawberry smoothie. Yamaguchi didn’t take his suggestion. Not that he minded. 

  
  


Yamaguchi wasn’t average. He was extraordinary.

**Author's Note:**

> oh yay, school started btw and my birthday is coming up  
> i have like...ideas but idk if they’re good, kagehina, daisuga, idk how to write their dynamics... also wanna do some fantasy stuff


End file.
